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FP trendNovember 19 2020 14:57:09 IST
As soon as the pandemic hit us and the governments of all countries imposed blockades, a significant reduction in air pollutants was noted. Now the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has an exact figure of the pollution deviation this year.
The data reveals how much pollution would have occurred had we not faced a pandemic and the percentage drop in nitrogen dioxide emissions in different countries relative to their normal percentage of emissions.
Using computer models, the scientists found that since February this year, pandemic restrictions have reduced global nitrogen dioxide concentrations by nearly 20 percent. Speaking of the importance of reducing nitrogen dioxide levels in the air, NASA declaration states that the air pollutant is “mainly produced by the combustion of fossil fuels used by industry and transport” and because there was a sudden stop in both at the height of the pandemic, there has been a significant drop in the level.
NASA researcher Christoph Keller, who was the head of the project, said in a declaration that everyone knew that “blockages would have an impact on air quality” but it was difficult “to quantify how much of that change is related to blockade measures, with respect to general seasonality or pollution variability.”
The problem with creating a computer model to study annual data is that no two years are alike, so the model must take into account the different variables. The researchers collected data from 46 countries and received hourly measurements of atmospheric composition in near real time. Showing significant changes, 50 of the 61 cities analyzed (when calculated at the city level) show reductions in nitrogen dioxide between 20 and 50%.
Keller confessed that he was a little surprised by the results as he thought the numbers will have a greater bearing on efforts to control air pollution over the past decade. But the study clearly showed signs of “a significant contribution driven by human behavior.”
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